I’m slightly apprehensive about running an article on street art owing to the fact that the talent involved in bringing you these pictures is firmly planted at the feet of the artists themselves – I’m only recording somebody else’s vision for you to enjoy. On the other hand I was rather pleased with this day out and the resulting shots, so here goes…

I really do have an affinity for Glasgow and I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that its many different layers are what makes it such a fulfilling place to spend time in. This was new to me though, and having spent a rather disappointing day walking round Dublin in search of the same just 24 hours earlier,  the talent really leapt off the walls here. And there are some big-hitters in the street art world making their mark…

Beginning on John Street we discovered the combined talents of Art Pistol and Rogue One with their hip-hop marionettes, livening up the rough end of an old building butting on to a car park.

These things tend to divide opinion but I’ve yet to read a negative review  of the murals that now span Glasgow city centre. There’s a world of difference between this and run-of-the-mill scrawling for the sake of scrawling – and it’s equally pleasing to see that your average rebel-with-a-spray-can has avoided these pieces when expressing themselves with paint.

Head on down to George Street and the University of Strathclyde’s Wonderwall installation really does grab your attention, its eight storey sheer edifices making it hard to even capture without scaling the levels of an adjacent car park. Ejek joined Rogue One and Art Pistol for this celebration of the University’s achievements painted on to the walls of the Graham Hills Building.

Now I do like a good bit of brutalism and it’s a shame nowadays that so many people are all too happy to try and tart it up as something it isn’t: There are exceptions of course (see Urban Splash’s reinterpretation of Sheffield’s Park Hill estate), but in general terms an obviously re-clad concrete building really is the fur-coat-no-knickers prostitute on the corner of the architecture world. With this though you have something that really enhances its pre-cast concrete panels and makes an almighty statement. The lecture theatre mural mixes a 1920s heritage piece with modern day splashes of colour to celebrate the diversity of the modern student population, while the Dansken Equatorial Telescope and ‘Land Ship’ are also featured in grand style as you walk round the complex.

Next up was  the equally prolific Smug, whose man with a robin adorns the gable end of a terrace just around the corner and sees an endless succession of photographers trying to get a good angle on it. It’s not easy, hence this shot looking up from the foot of the building. Although it doesn’t look like it the day was actually hot and sunny – the problem was that we simply couldn’t engineer everything to appear in the right light and the sun was on the other side of the building at this point. After this particular challenge we were in need of refreshment and retreated to the nearby Drygate Brewery for brief respite and half a pint of Disco Forklift Truck, before resuming the tour…

Down on Ingram Street car park Smug had been busy again, filling an entire wall with animals, flora and fauna peering through apparent holes in the masonry. This is just a taste of some pretty epic work, giant toadstools, angry birds and photobombing squirrel included…

Mitchell Street is a little more hidden, but find it and you’ll find what looks like Rogue One’s balloon propelled taxi adorning the alley’s brick walls (main picture, top). In actual fact the wall is about as real as the floating taxi – every single brick painted simply because the artist felt like it. Turn around and you’ll see Smug’s Girl with a Magnifying Glass bearing down on the apparently toy like cars below. I could go on – there are plenty more pieces under bridges and flyovers, up alleyways and on derelict buildings. We checked out all we could find, but these are just a few personal highlights from a trip I could well recommend. Take a look for yourself.

The day turned to evening and ended with a nice range of craft beers and some gin and tonics, sat in a Brewdog bar talking to two Frenchmen about visiting Scotland, music, exploring, gigs and festivals.

Once again, Glasgow just hit it out of the park.